Posted on 04/24/2007 8:31:32 AM PDT by RedRover
ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center today announced that it will request the Secretary of Navy to investigate allegations of improper and unconstitutional interrogation methods employed by Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents against Marine witnesses. Law Center attorneys obtained the information during interviews of several key Haditha witnesses.
The Thomas More Law Center, a Christian legal advocacy group based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is representing Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, who is charged with failing to investigate and report 15 Iraqi civilian deaths in connection with a Marine response to a terrorist ambush that occurred in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005.
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, "There are disturbing reports that American servicemen were treated like POWs by their own government. In fact, more concern has been shown toward the treatment of Iraqi prisoners than towards our Marines. An investigation of these allegations is in order."
According to Marine witnesses, in some cases interrogations lasted up to 18 hours. During prolonged questioning sessions, Marines were not allowed to eat, drink, or use the bathroom. In some cases, Marines were kept in segregated rooms of an old Iraqi dam that were damp, dark, and "dungeon like." These interrogation sessions occurred while the Marines were still involved in combat operations in Haditha, a hostile insurgent city.
Many witnesses reported that the questioning was accusatorial, confrontational, and at times insulting. One officer stated that agents yelled and threw things at him during his questioning. Witnesses believed that the agents had already concluded that there was wrongdoing and were not interested in information that would tend to exonerate the Marines. One witness stated that it was his perception that the NCIS agents had an agenda—they were going after the officers in the battalion.
Witness interviews revealed that Marines in Iraq raised concerns about the NCIS interrogation techniques immediately upon receiving reports from the Marines who were questioned. One senior officer from the battalion stated that when he brought these allegations to the attention of the senior NCIS agent in Iraq at the time, the agent "blew him off completely."
Recent news stories corroborate the allegations of mistreatment on the part of NCIS agents. According to a North County Times article, in some cases NCIS agents refused to provide attorneys for suspects who asked for them. The article reported that "[s]ome of the interrogations that took place in Iraq before the regiment returned to Camp Pendleton in April took place over as long as 12 hours . . . and the suspects were not allowed to take bathroom breaks. Instead, they were given bottles to use to relieve themselves." The article noted that "[t]he treatment of the suspects was so bad that at least two officers who were not a direct part of the investigation complained to their superiors."
These latest revelations add to the increasing difficulties facing prosecutors. From the beginning, the case has been fraught with legal problems and inappropriate pre-trial publicity, which has prejudiced the ability of the charged Marines to obtain a fair trial. In fact, Air Force Lt. General Thomas McInerney, a 35-year veteran of the Air Force and former Joint Force Commander, has already publicly stated that all charges against the Marines should be dismissed because the Marines could not get a fair trial as a result of undue command influence. McInerney was referring to the outrageous statements of Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha—statements that were made before the investigation even concluded. Murtha declared that the Marines had committed "cold-blooded" murder of civilians in Haditha on November 19, 2005 and that the officers were covering it up.
Thompson concluded, "This entire investigation has been nothing but a political witchhunt instigated by insurgent propaganda operatives, anti-war media, and anti-war politicians. The government has spared no expense seeking to find wrongdoing on the part of our hard-fighting Marines. They should spend like resources investigating these serious allegations of investigatory misconduct. Our servicemen deserve as much."
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
Smells like BS to me.
What Murtha said is irrelevant in the court proceedings, with the sole exception of a command-influence motion.
You didn’t answer the question, counsel.
Murtha's statement served only to inflame the civilian world. Absent any evidence of attempts to dictate outcomes, it has absolutely no bearing on the proceedings. The Court will take no notice of it in its fact-finding.
This article is the converse. It's trying to argue that the interrogators coerced the Marines into making inculpatory statements. The problem is that most of what happened there has been explicitly held to be non-coercive. It's entire purpose is to rile up the public against the prosecution.
Neither is the appropriate forum for those arguments. Ultimately, it also appears that both statements are more inflammatory than they are accurate. Murtha's allegation of cold-blooded murder misrepresents what was, at worst, a serious violation of the rules of engagement in the fog of war which resulted in the deaths of civilians. This article asserts coercion because Army soldiers were yelled at by interrogators, interrogated for a long period of time, and had to pee in a bottle.
I gotta agree with you. I wish the Thomas Moore Law Center were as adept at handling complex litigation as they are at writing press releases.
The only purpose that this press release exists, however, is to stir up outrage that the Marines were interrogated.
You are missing something quite fundamental.
I think these interrogation tactics are somewhat coercive. In my post #34 ....”By the 1950s, confessions were considered involuntary not only if police beat the suspect, but also if they held a suspect for an unnecessarily extended period of time, deprived him of sleep, food, water or bathroom facilities, promised some benefit if the suspect confessed or threatened some harm if he didn’t.”....
The having to go to the bathroom in a bottle is just simply demeaning - not necessary.
The only reason this incident on Nov. 19, 2005 was reexamined was the inflammatory statements by stringers and our own media. The case has been discussed in the media for the last year, usually in terms negative to the Marines. Murtha had a lot of influence in getting this conversation going. These Marines could use some sympathy, which translates into donations for their defense. They are at a HUGE disadvantage monetarily compared to the millions that have been spent to try to prosecute them.
One of the things I remember from the Duke La Crosse rape accusations was one of the men discussing how this case would have gone down for someone who didn’t have the financial backing that his family was able to provide. The federal govt has even more finanacial ability to pay for trips to Iraq, forensics, you name it. The price tag of this prosecution has be quite large. So, if the defense includes some pro bono PR, I say use what works. Let’s hope it also translates into some donations for these Marines’ defense.
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